I am thrilled to announce the arrival of perhaps the most equally loved and hated performer of the 2008 Winnipeg Folk Festival. Geoff Berner is an extremely talented singer-song writer-accordion player from Vancouver and I for one love his music. I first took notice of Berner as I soaked up the rare moments of sunshine during the 2008 Winnipeg Folk Festival. He was a “tweener” act on the Main Stage and began his set with his new downloaded hit slightly altered version of his mock theme song for the upcoming Vancouver Olympic Games “The Dead Children Were Worth It”. As if the song wasn’t controversial enough, Berner topped it off with a lovely comment that reflected the ironic nature of having Volkswagen the corporate sponsor of the Folk Festival. What followed was an equal combination of boos and cheers, I for one found the humour in both the songs and his banter in between. Berner is indeed controversial at times but he is also a wonderful singer, musician, songwriter, and has fantastic comedic timing.

Perhaps in hope of attracting more attention or just adding more instruments to the mix Berner has added to his performance the skills of Brigitte Dajczer and Wayne Adams. Dajczer is a stunningly beautiful classically trained Violinist from Montreal. She studied her art through the Toronto Royal Concervatory of Music and at blues bars across the country. Adams provides the beating foundation of the band with his skills on percussion. After witnessing Berner on his own I was well aware that I enjoyed his music but I wasn’t expecting to find myself transfixed on the Klezmer Trio myspace page and with just that bit of a musical tease I am counting down the days to see this group live.

If the Klezmer Trio wasn’t enough for you coming along for the ride is Rae Spoon. If you were around Brandon University a few years ago you may have been privileged to catch Spoon perform a time or two at SUDS. Now a regular on the festival circuit scene Spoon has performed at Folk Festivals across Canada and has toured Australia, Europe, and the USA. Spoon is a country singer-songwriter with a lot of heart and soul and a voice to match. As summed up by the Brandon Folk Music and Art Festival “Expect a heady, black-humoured cabaret, coloured by misfits and plot turns, all through a punk-klezmer-eastern-European-influenced musical lens, while Rae weaves folk, indie-rock and electronic music tales of the Great Lakes, cabin fever, dancing with grizzlies, ghosts and colonialism.” Ok perhaps summarized isn’t the appropriate word to describe that sentence, but I promise you this performance will leave a lasting impression!

The concert takes place at the Brandon City Hall, Sunday January 31st at 7:30pm. Tickets are limited and on sale now and are available at 10,000 Villages, Pennywise Books, Marquis Project and BUSU. It’s $10 for adults and $8 for students and BFMAS members.